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Doing Life With… is a BellaNaija Features series that showcases how people live, work, travel, care for their families and… everything in between. We are documenting the lives of all people and ensuring everyone is well-represented at BN.
Did you miss last week’s conversation with Haoma Worgwu? You can catch up here.
This week, we’re doing life with Benedicte Kalala, a lifestyle and food content creator. Enjoy the conversation.
Hey Benedicte, how do you do?
I am doing well. I hope you are too.
We feel good, too. Give us a peep into your background and a part of your childhood that formed who you are today
I was born and raised in Congo DRC and am one of 6. I remember having a fun childhood, playing with siblings, cousins and neighbours. My mother is and has always been a no-nonsense woman and I think that’s something I picked up on during my development. We grew up not having much and moved around a bit until we found our way to the US. Here, I finished high school, graduated from college, and started my own business. In all that, I noticed the differences and similarities in lifestyle among my peers and me. This would later influence a lot of my decisions, thoughts, and lifestyle values.
That’s so cool, Benedicte. Walk us through your content creation journey
I started creating content in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. I was home like the rest of us and was a vegan at the time, so I started recording what I ate and the exercises I did (to avoid coming out of the pandemic twice the size I went into it). In my mind, I was going to be the next Tabitha Brown; the only problem was, that veganism was never a long-term goal. It was a change I had to make to manage some health concerns. Once that was settled, I didn’t find much joy in creating content I was no longer fully living by 100%, so I stopped and reset. I changed all my social media names from Dab Fittness to Benny’s Take to allow me to incorporate all that I cared to talk about. Eventually, I found the courage to start saying how I really felt about things and people gravitated towards that authenticity. I love that I get to be myself at all times and don’t have to send a representative of myself. I show up every day to show people, particularly women, that they don’t have to have exceptional talents or skills to be valuable. Their everyday thoughts, selves, and nuances are enough to command respect.
We love what you do! Some people say your African identity is mixed. Sometimes you sound Nigerian, Ghanaian, or Ugandan. Other times, Kenyan, Congolese and other accents that your persona represents. Is this intentional or just spontaneous?
It’s more spontaneous (especially the Nigerian accent) because I grew up with a wide range of cultures around me and consumed a lot of media from other cultures. We watched a lot of Nigerian movies, a lot of Tanzanian theatre as well as other shoes from Cote D’Ivoire. I also lived in Zimbabwe for a bit and so my accent just took a body of its own.
Outside content creation, what other things are you involved in?
I own my own cleaning company that funds my life. I also co-own a luxury picnic business with my sister that is growing slowly but surely. I’ve been hired to cater for events because food is always a passion of mine.
Multiple income flex, eh?
You can say.
What’s a major challenge you have experienced in your career so far
A major challenge I’ve faced is imposter syndrome. I sometimes feel as though I don’t deserve to be in spaces that I’m in and I often have to surrender that to God and walk in His power.
You deserve wherever you are, Benedicte
Thank you.
What’s a typical day in your life?
I’m an early bird who likes to get things done sooner rather than later and I often start by getting some cleaning out of the way. While warming up my car, I will either record or edit a video already in my draft. On a good day, I’d eat breakfast, work out, and read my Bible but that doesn’t always happen as consistently as I’d like it to. While cleaning, I’ll listen to my favourite podcasts or catch preaching. After cleaning, I typically come home, eat something and prep dinner. I end my nights eating dinner and spending time with my husband.
What are the little things you do to spark and feel happy and alive during tough times?
I am an aunt of 4 and when I need a bit of a break, I hang out with my nieces and nephews. Children in general remind me that most things are never as serious as they may seem in my mind at the moment. I also just pray and spend intentional time with God. When I feel overwhelmed, it’s usually a result of me not spending enough time with God.
You like fashion a lot. How important do you find fashion in defining human personality?
I think fashion tells our stories in general. I find that the status of my mind on any given day reflects how I dress. For example, on days I feel the happiest, I dress the best and on days I don’t, there’s not much effort. All in all, I believe people need to dress how they see fit regardless of how others may feel.
If you were only allowed to do one thing for a whole month, what would it be?
This is a tough question because I like so many things. If I had to choose though, I’d only cook for a month. There are so many foods I’d love to try making and if I had a month to do only that, I think I’d accomplish so much. Wait, does eating count as a separate thing? 
How long does the process of content creation take, from ideating to publishing?
There’s no set time for all kinds of content and it all depends on what is being created. Longer format content (YouTube videos) naturally takes more time because I shoot in 4k and the files tend to be larger. This ultimately means longer editing/processing time. A lot of my reactions take no more than ten minutes between thinking about what I want to say, recording it, and publishing it. A lot of the videos I react to are non-consequential so there’s not much thought or research that goes into it. For YouTube, however (depending on the topic) I make sure that I’m well versed to ensure that I’m not using my platform to spread misinformation.
Tell us about your hobbies and things you do to pass away time
I like all sorts of things and it all depends on my mood. I love listening to music, playing my keyboard, making cocktails, and sometimes reading (depending on the book).
Thank you for being on Doing Life With…, Benedicte
Thank you for having me.
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Many thanks to Benedicte Kalala for having this conversation with us and answering all our questions – and swiftly too, we must add.
Do you love this content, have any feedback for us or want to be a BellaNaija Features contributor? We’d love to read from you. Shoot us an email: features@bellanaija.com. Join us on Saturday for the next episode!
The post Benedicte Kalala Tells Us How She Found Her Content Creation Niche In Today’s “Doing Life With…” appeared first on BellaNaija – Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.
